If creativity is not enough, then malicious intent can be used to make up for it. Because the prospects for iPhone 7 are worrying, what tricks has Apple invented?

Since the death of Steve Jobs, the voices criticizing Apple have never stopped. Indeed, the lack of innovation in the post-Steve Jobs era is obvious to all. Siri, touch ID, 3D touch, and dual cameras cannot be compared with the world-changing innovations such as capacitive screens, app stores, gyroscopes, and Retina screens. On the contrary, since the iPhone 5 era, mobile phone design and quality issues such as paint peeling, bending, oxidation, and noise have always surrounded the new iPhones released every year.

Didn’t the advertisement tell you that the iPhone 6 would bend?

Unlike companies like Google that gather ideas from all sides, Apple during the Jobs era was a one-man dictatorship. When Jobs was selecting a successor, he knew that it would be impossible to find another successor with his own charisma, so he simply handed the baton to Tim Cook, his right-hand man who had always been good at managing the company. This was actually a farsighted move.

Under Cook's leadership, although Apple's conservative product strategy has been widely criticized, before the 6s sales suffered a Waterloo this year, Cook had delivered a perfect answer to the company's shareholders for several years, and the company's revenue and stock have been rising. Moreover, although this year's iPhone 7 was generally criticized by users and industry insiders, analysts are unanimously optimistic about Apple's profit prospects in the coming year. After the press conference, Apple's stock rose for several days to a new high.

So, what tricks did Apple use to ensure the company's revenue when its products were not produced? Let's take a look today.

Software barriers guarantee new machine sales

In the past, when hardware computing power was insufficient, old machines could not keep up with software upgrades, and they were helpless when faced with new functions and became stuck.

But after Cook opened a new era with iPhone 4s, this situation gradually changed. The new firmware's support for old iPhones became worse and worse. The joke that "the new iOS version firmware fixes the vicious bug that makes the old machine run smoothly" has been told for many years. The iPhone, which used to be comfortable for two or three years, was eliminated faster and faster. When iPhone 6s came with iOS9 last year, the iPhone 6, which was only on sale for a year, actually became stuck under iOS9. You should know that iOS9 has few new features. And unlike Android or Windows, you can choose to downgrade. Once Apple's server closes the verification of the lower version, the iPhone can no longer be downgraded to a lower version system.

Apple has started to set up obstacles in software when its hardware innovation is limited. Cook said that the A4 chip of iPhone 4 is not powerful enough to run Siri, but was later refuted by jailbreak plugins. Live Photos, the unique feature of iPhone 6s that can only be powered by A9 chip, was also confirmed by plugins to run on iPhone 5. I wonder if this is the real reason why Apple opposes jailbreaking?

Want to use new features? Want to say goodbye to lag? Change your phone! To be honest, if it doesn’t lag, the iPhone 4 can last another 10 years.

Sales strategies in different tiers

It is a common practice for merchants to divide products into different price tiers. If the allocation is appropriate, it can not only provide differentiated sales strategies for profit, but also meet the needs of consumers with different usage habits.

iPhones have always been sold in different capacities. It is a well-known secret that the cost of a 32G iPhone is only a dozen dollars higher than that of a 16G iPhone, but the price difference is hundreds of dollars. However, in the early iPhones, the 16G capacity was sufficient, and users who bought the 32G iPhone had real needs and were willing to pay the difference.

However, in the iPhone era where firmware and software take up more and more storage space, Apple's insistence on starting with 16G seems not so honest. After adding a few hundred yuan, the second-level iPhone is equipped with 64G storage space. Apple's intention to induce and force users to spend a higher price to buy the 64G version is obvious to everyone.

After being criticized for two years, this year's iPhone 7 finally starts at 32G, but the bright black color that is most likely to arouse consumer desire has a capacity starting at 128G. I have to say that this is the longest road I have taken, and this is really Apple's routine.

Not only that, the difference in user experience between iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 is no longer just a harmless optical image stabilization like that between iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It can be said that Apple's hardware efforts this year are basically focused on the dual camera of 7 Plus.

So, this year's complete iPhone is the iPhone 7 Plus in bright black with 128G (or 256G). Are you ready to say goodbye to your wallet?

Trying to sell peripherals

In fact, at this year's Apple fall new product launch conference, the biggest focus may not be any innovation, such as the Home button or the dual cameras, but the 3.5mm headphone jack that is rumored to be cancelled.

It was indeed cancelled.

Apple says that this interface is too old and we want to abolish it. Look, we have abolished the optical drive port and other things. Our body needs space and this antique takes up too much space. Our iPhone 7 needs to be waterproof and this interface is a nuisance. Wireless is the future. Look, our creative earphones, AirPods, do not need a headphone jack.

pull.

Oldness cannot be an excuse for cancellation. Deng Xiaoping once said that no matter whether it is an old or new interface, an interface that brings us convenience is a good interface. We have so many peripherals around the old antique 3.5mm, and most people use it every day, unlike the optical drive port which is used less frequently; and the iPhone 7 has neither become thinner nor smaller after canceling the headphone jack. On the contrary, the size of the iPhone SE is obviously a lie about space needs; Boom7 is also waterproof, and it is IP68 level, and Samsung has not canceled the headphone jack; wireless is the future, why don’t you use wireless charging? No matter how good your AirPods are, can’t they coexist with the headphone jack for us to choose?

To put it bluntly, this is just another clever trick of Apple's open source. If you buy AirPods or Beats headphones from me, and want to use your original 3.5mm headphones, keep the adapter. If you lose it, you have to buy one from me.

The bright black color is easy to scratch, buy a protective case! The battery capacity is not enough, buy a smart battery case! The charger that comes with it is slow to charge, buy an iPad! If you want to participate in the annual replacement plan, buy Apple Care+! If you want to listen to music while charging, buy AirPods!

The era of satisfying user needs as a means of doing things is over. How can Apple survive?

Compared to difficult innovations, it is much easier to listen to user needs and meet consumers' small wishes.

When the stubborn old man Steve Jobs was alive, he established countless iron rules, such as 3.5 inches is the best mobile phone size, 9.7 inches is the best iPad size, and the stylus is garbage, which were all talked about by Apple fans. However, with the changes of the times, these rules are gradually becoming less applicable.

Cook did not stick to Steve Jobs' rules. Instead, he focused on higher company profits and tried his best to meet user demands for products. The large-sized iPhone, small-sized iPad, Apple Pencil and Retina MacBook Pro all set off a new Apple craze and left a strong mark on Apple in the post-Steve Jobs era.

The Apple of the Steve Jobs era that had insight into consumer needs is gone forever. Apple has gradually become no different from those companies that are busy working hard to meet user needs, and changing the world has become a pipe dream.

When all the needs of users have been met, we saw Apple's desperation in this year's iPhone 7. It has no manners left to make money, and Cook has even resorted to profit-making methods at the expense of user experience.

After so many years of cultivating user brand loyalty, it’s time to reap the benefits! Whether you can leave the roots and continue harvesting next year depends on your skills.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.